Means for lifting and turning automobiles.



MGELMER STEWART. MEANS FOR LIFTING- AND TURNING AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATIONFILED APR. 28, 1013.

1,080,384, lfgltented Dec. 2, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES: Q a

MOELMER STEWART.- MEANS FOR LIITING AND TURNING AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATIONFILED 111 11.28, 1913.

1,080,384, Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

2 BHEETSSHEET 2.

'ITE STATES ATENT OFFICE.

MCELMER STEWART, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO AUTOMATIC TIRE REST COMPANY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI,

A CORPORATION.

MEANS FOR LIF'I'ING AND TURNING AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MoELMnn STEWART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Liftingand Turning Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in means for lifting and turningautomobiles, and one object is to provide a simple apparatus of thischaracter whereby the life of automobile tires may be prolonged by relieving them of the weight of the automobile while the same is at rest.

A further object is to provide means whereby the automobile may beturned around to any desired point.

The apparatus is intended moreespecially for use in public and privategarages, al-

though it may be used to advantage in repair shops and other places. I

In order that the invention may be fully understood, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevationpartly in section. Fig. 3 is a cross section on llne III-III of Fig. 1with some of the parts in the background removed. Fig. 1 is a section,enlarged, on line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

In carrying out the invention, I employ a turntable consisting of anannular rail 1, wheels 2 mounted upon said rail and united in pairs byyokes 3, a track 4 consisting of a pair of channel-bars, 1 mounted uponsaid yokes 3, a spider 5 uniting said channelbars 4, arms 6 intersectingat their central portions and secured at their ends to rail 1, and aking-bolt 7 extending through the central portions of spider 5 and arms6, and constituting the axis of the turntable.

The means for raising the automobile embodies four rails 8, the uppersurfaces of which are inclined in opposite directions from a pointmidway between their ends 9, which extend upwardly as shown on Fig. 2 tolimit the movement of a four-wheeled truck A. The upper surfaces ofrails 8 have recesses 10, adjacent the ends 9, to receive rollers 11arranged to traverse said rails, one roller being mounted upon'eachrail.

Rollers 11 are grooved to fit the cross-sectional curvature of the rails8, the flanges thus formed at the opposite sides of the grooves servingto hold the rollers from lateral displacement from their respectiverails 8.

12 designates a plurality of standards, one of which is mounted uponeach roller 11 and extends upward through a guide 13, one of which isfixed near each corner of the truck A. Standards 12 are disposed toengage the undersides of the axles of an automobile preparatory tolifting the same. Said truck comprises four wheels 14, telescopic shafts15 upon which said wheels 14 are mounted, brackets 16, in which shafts15 are mounted, and longitudinal members- 17 connecting the brackets 16in pairs and carrying the guides 13.

Each longitudinal member 17 is made in two pieces having longitudinalslots 18 for the passage of bolts 19, whereby the two pieces of eachmember 17 are connected. This arrangement permits the standards 12 to beadjusted toward or away from each other to accommodate automobiles ofdifferent lengths.

The lengthening or shortening of truck A adjusts the rollers 11 towardor away fromeach other, so I provide rails 8 with depend ing dowel pins20, adapted to take into any of the holes 21 in the channel-bars 4", inorder that proper relations may be maintained between the rollers andsaid rails.

The rails 8 are arranged against the outer flanges of the channel-bars 4to leave room for the wheels 14 (see Fig. 3) to traverse saidchannel-bars 22 designates a pair of latch-bars, each pivotally-mountedat one end upon a telescopic shaft 15 and provided at its underside witha shoulder 23.

Shoulders 23 are adapted to engage the lower sides 24 of loops 25,mounted upon stays 25 extending transversely across the ends of theturntable and connected at their terminals to the rails 8.

2G designates a pair of springs, each connected to the free end of alatch-bar 22 and extending backward through the adjacent loop 25, isbent downward to form an abutment 27, which, when in raised position asshown at the right on Fig. 2, is dis osed in line with two of thevertical edges 0 the adjacent standards 12, to abut the front axle ofthe automobile when said axle is immediately over said standards.

The'operation of the. apparatus is substantially as follows: As shown onFigs. Tl and 2, the apparatus is adjusted to receive an automobiletraveling in the direction of arrow a. i As the automobile passes overthe truck its front axle contacts the abutment '27 at the right of theapparatus and thereby pushes said truck forward until the shoulderon thelatch-bar 22, at the left engages the lower portion 24:,of itsrespective loop 25, the parts being so arranged that such engagementtakes place just as rollers 11 which have been carried by the rails 8,start to descend the other side of said rails. The traveling of rollers11 up the rails 8, pushes the standards 12 upward through the guides 13,causing said standards to engage the undersides of the axles of. theautomobile, which is thereby raised until its tires clear the floor,thus relieving said tires of all weight. To allow the automobile todescend it is only necessary to lift the latch-bar 22, at the left,until its shoulder 23 disengages the lower portion of its respectiveloop 25, when the weight of the automobile causes rollers 11 to descendthe inclined surfaces at the right of rails 8, until said rollerscontact the upturned ends 9. @n or before the rollers 11 pass into therecesses 10, at the right, the standards 12 pass down out of engage'mentwith the axles and permit the tires to rest upon the door. As truck A iscarried forward by the standards 12, it pushes the latch-bar 22, at theright, forward through its respective loop 25, the upper portion ofwhich depresses spring 26 until its abutment 27 passes down out of thepath of the front axles, so that the automobile will be free to moveforward after its tires reach the door. The forward movement of thetruck A draws the latch-bar 22 at the left through its respective loop25 and permits its spring 26 to move upward until its abutment 27 is in,the path of the front axle when the automobile returns in a directionopposite to that indicated by arrow a. lit the automobile is to a preachfrom the same-direction each time, t e turntable is rotated a halfrevolution to bring the parts in proper position.-

Having thus descri ed my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. In anapparatus of the character described, a plurality of rails eachhaving an upper surface inclined in opposite directions from a pointintermediate its ends, rollers to traverse said rails, and means carriedby said rollers and adapted to lift an automobile.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of railshaving inclined ou est said rollers to engage the axles of, anautomobile to lift the same, an abutment adjacent said standards to holdthe same in proper relation to the axles and actuate the rollers, saidabutment being arranged in the path of the front axle, and means tocheck the rollers immediately after they .have' passed the apex of theinclined surfaces.

4:. in an apparatus of the character described, means for raising anautomobile, a truck for actuating said means, an abutment on said truckarranged in the path'of the automobile, whereby said truck is movedforward with the automobile, and means to check the forward movement ofsaid truck.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, lifting means for liftingan automobile, a truck to control said lifting means, latch-bars at theends of said truck to limit the ,movement thereof, means to check themovement of said latch-bars, and abutments carried by said latch-bars,either one of: said abutments being adapted to be arrangedin the path ofthe automobile so thatthe truck will be actuated thereby,

6. In an apparatus of the character described, means for raising anautomobile, a truck for actuating said means, an abutment, on said truckand in the path of the automobile, whereby said truck is moved forwardwith the automobile, means to check the truck before completing itsforwardmovement, and means to lower the abutment out of the path of theautomobile as the truck completes its forward movement,

7. In an apparatus of the character described, means for raising anautomobile, a truck for actuating said means,'an abutment in the path ofthe automobile, whereby said truck is moved forward with'the automobile,an element carrying said abutment, a latch-bar carrying said element,and adapted to check the truck before completing its forward movement,and means coacting with said latch-bar to check the truck and with theelement to move the abutment out of the path of the automobile as thetruck completes its forward movement,

8. ln an apparatus of the character described, means for raising anautomobile, a truck for actuatin said means, an abutment in the path oft e automobile, whereby saidtruck is moved forward with the automobile,a spring carrying said abutment, an

element carrying said spring, and a stationary loop coacting with saidelement to check the truck and with the spring to move the abutment outof the path of the automobile as the truck completes its forwardmovement.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, means for raising anautomobile, and a truck for actuating said means and adapted to beactuated by the automobile, consisting of Wheels, shafts upon which saidwheels are mounted, brackets mounted upon said shafts and adjustablyconnected so that said truck may be lengthened or shortened.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, two channel-bars, railsadjustably mounted upon said channel-bars and having inclined surfaces,rollers to traverse said rails, means carried by said roller's to raisean automobile, and a truck for actuating the rollers and adapted tobeQactuated by the automobile, consisting of wheels to traverse thechannel-bars, shafts upon which said wheels are mounted, bracketsmounted upon said shafts, and longitudinal members mounted upon saidbrackets and adjustably connected so that said truck may be lengthenedor shortened.

11. In an apparatus of the character described,-a plurality of railshaving inclined surfaces, rollers to traverse said rails, means carriedby said rollers and adapted to. engage the underside of an automobileand lift the same to relieve the tires thereof of the weight of theautomobile, means connecting the rails in pairs, rollers carrying saidmeans, and a circular track traversed by said rollers.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. in the presence of twowitnesses. V

MoELMER STEWART.

Witnesses:

F. G. FISCHER, L. J. FISCHER.

